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Study commission urges ballot question; Daniels County will ask voters about nonpartisan local races
Summary
The Local Government Study Commission presented survey results and commissioners voted to place a nonpartisan-election question on the November ballot, citing survey support; a town-hall and public education timeline were set.
The Daniels County Local Government Study Commission asked the board March 16 to let voters decide whether local county offices should be nonpartisan in future elections. Joanne Barkco, the commission chair, said the commission’s surveys found more respondents favoring nonpartisan contests and asked the commissioners to place the question before voters this November.
Barkco told the commission the electronic survey produced 106 responses and paper ballots added another 125 responses; she said approximately 52% of the computer respondents selected ‘‘agree’’ on the question of nonpartisan elections. Barkco said the commission’s next step is a town-hall meeting on April 14 and a deadline of August 1 to submit ballot language to the elections administrator.
Commissioners debated the representativeness of the survey — one commissioner noted the raw number of respondents is small relative to the county’s registered voters — but several members argued the question’s core issue is whether to allow voters to decide the change. The commission voted to place the proposed measure (identified as Resolution 2026-8) on the November ballot and to include the study commission’s tentative report in the April town-hall.
If approved by voters, the change would alter how some local offices are nominated and could shift the timing or dynamics of primaries for certain positions. The county will hold further public education and a public hearing in August as part of the ballot-preparation process.
